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This game they played, it was always the same tug-of-war between who would come out the victor. Who would cave first to their own cravings. It was a game Gunner did not play with Summer, not in full, not in the way he used to play it with Mila.[break][break]

And for the first time, he felt like a Pokémon trapped in a cage, unable to run as far and as fast as he wanted. Unable to be free.[break][break]

Try as he might, he could not quash the tiny seed of resentment toward Summer that burrowed itself in his chest.[break][break]

Gunner scoffed again, doing everything in his power to save face even as Mila stepped up to him. She was so close, he could lean forward and press their bodies together if he wanted. "You don't know anything about what I want," he lied. "You don't know anything about me."[break][break]

But he did release her, resisting her seductions one final time. Giving her one last, long, lingering look, he turned on his heel and stalked away.

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If Gunner had one trait that could save him that night, it was his stubbornness. It warred against his lust, threatening to tear him apart. How many times had he been in this exact situation? How many times had he tried to resist Mila, only to capitulate to her demands — or his body's own?[break][break]

"We're nothing alike."[break][break]

They were everything alike.[break][break]

"I don't need you, Mila."[break][break]

It was taking every ounce of his willpower not to crush his mouth against hers in a bruising kiss.[break][break]

"And I definitely don't need you trying to worm your way back into my life. So do us both a favor and stay the fuck out of it."[break][break]

Gunner shoved away her hands again, though this time, his fingers remained curled around her wrists. Even now, even after saying those words, he didn't want to let her go. He couldn't.

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Gunner shrugged his shoulders, unconcerned with rules. "Rules are good for the average person. But they only get us soldiers so far."[break][break]

Neither he nor Greyson were soldiers in the proper sense of the word, but with the way conflict in the region was escalating, they might as well have been.[break][break]

"We do need to gather more intel on their Avatars. My understanding is that they don't have too many — at least, not compared to our numbers. But if we can take even those away, we can deal Team Rocket a massive blow."[break][break]

Gunner considered the best course of action, especially considering the plans Melody Miro had divulged to him earlier that year.[break][break]

"I'll speak with my superiors and see what can be done. What will you do in the meantime?"

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Mila grabbing his shirt wouldn't normally do anything, not with their difference in strength. But Gunner was already standing on unsteady legs. When she dragged him down, he stumbled forward, his hands automatically rising to catch himself on her shoulders.[break][break]

Her face filled his vision: her bright eyes staring unflinchingly into his, her lips moving as she mocked him some more. The heat of her body stirred a primal instinct within him, reminding him of the softness of her curves, and the taste of her skin on his tongue.[break][break]

Gunner hummed, the sound deep in his chest. Mila's biting words burned, but anger was no longer the only emotion making his skin grow hot. Slowly, his hands moved from her shoulders to cup her face.[break][break]

"You're a terrible liar, Mila." His voice was a rough sound, thick with drunkenness and something else. "You're better off using your mouth for other things."[break][break]

The tip of his nose grazed hers. So sudden was the touch that Gunner blinked, startled by their closeness.[break][break]

Immediately, Summer's face surfaced in his mind, a warning against whatever he was about to do.[break][break]

Gunner withdrew from Mila with an abrupt coldness, forcefully prying her hand from his shirt. "But I have a girlfriend now," he said, trying to come off more aloof than he felt. Trying to suppress the twinge of reluctance and frustration from pushing Mila away. "Go find someone else to insult until they throw you against the wall."

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Playing spy. Just a man.[break][break]

Whether Gideon knew it or not, the words coming out of his mouth only riled Gunner even more. The younger Graves had already warned the elder not to patronize him, yet there Gideon was, belittling Gunner's abilities and agency.[break][break]

Heedless of his brother's current physical state, Gunner grabbed Gideon's good wrist and shoved it away, forcing Gideon to release his jacket.[break][break]

"You're wrong," Gunner snarled. "It couldn't have been me. I'm not the skinny little kid you've always known. I've trained for this."[break][break]

In the red haze of his anger, he did not think to check his words or rein in his own venom.[break][break]

"You can't possibly know the lengths I've gone to protect our family and our region. I've been at war for the past five years, while all you've done is sit behind desks and collect stupid bugs for no good fucking reason."[break][break]

Gunner turned to leave but cast one last, heated look at Gideon from over his shoulder.[break][break]

"Only one of us is playing pretend and it's not me."[break][break]

Then he left, slamming the front door behind him so hard that it rattled in its hinges.

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A sober Gunner would have noticed the way Mila took a fearful step back, but in his current state, he didn't see it. Instead, he only scoffed again at her comment and rolled his eyes.[break][break]

"Not you-you. The region-you. Hoenn-you," he corrected, preparing to insult her intelligence next. However, her claim that she was only tolerating him stopped that train of thought immediately.[break][break]

Gunner stared at her with an open incredulity only possible in a drunken state.[break][break]

"Tolerating me?" he repeated, his shock giving way to abrupt laughter. "Holy shit, Mila, really? Tolerating me? Even though you've knocked on my door how many times? Begged me to do things to you?"[break][break]

His fingers twitched, aching to grab her like they'd done dozens of times before. Instead, he smirked. "You were always so cute when you begged. Cuter than you're being now, anyway."

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"And what if I am?" Gunner yelled back, uncrossing his arms as he took a step toward Gideon. The widening of his stance, the squaring of his shoulders — all were gestures to make him seem bigger and meaner than his brother.[break][break]

"I'm doing important work defending our home, Gideon. Don't you fucking patronize me. I'm not a fucking child anymore."[break][break]

Childhood memories flashed through his mind: of Gideon stopping him from killing himself doing something reckless, of Gideon cleaning his scrapes whenever he got hurt, of Gideon scolding him for getting into fights with older boys.[break][break]

Gunner squashed those memories with all the anger building in him.[break][break]

"More importantly, what were you doing out there?" Gunner pointed wildly in Dewford's direction. "Don't give me bullshit about research or whatever — you nearly lost your life to some bitch in Team Rocket. If I hadn't been there, you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

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As Gideon recounted the day's earlier events, Gunner's guilt and stubbornness mounted with him in equal measure. And when Gideon asked the question that nailed the lid into Gunner's coffin, the younger brother could only scowl with great petulance.[break][break]

But he could not deny his involvement, not when his Typhlosion was mentioned by name.[break][break]

"It was Guin," Gunner reluctantly admitted, his movements stiff as he crossed his arms over his chest. Then he sighed, unable to find a way to avoid the truth.[break][break]

"I'm not a paralegal. Not really. I work for the government." A pause. "The HBIC. Councilwoman Livy is my boss."

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Gunner, too, had warmed up already, though his role in the practice drill he'd designed for Angelo did not require him to move around as much. Dressed in workout clothes, he gestured for the other man to follow him.[break][break]

"We're going to test your new abilities as an Avatar and get you some practice using them," the agent explained. He'd read the report from PENELOPE LIVY of what Angelo could do; the details still amazed him.[break][break]

They entered an enclosed, outdoor area that, at first glance, did not look especially remarkable. In fact, it looked like the natural landscape of the island, complete with trees gently swaying in the breeze and random rocky formations. The area was large enough that the fencing surrounding it was difficult to see in its entirety.[break][break]

"Specifically, you're going to turn invisible and try to sneak up on me. I get one minute to find a decent location to wait. If I notice you first, we do it again, but I'll change locations."[break][break]

Gunner tilted his head at Angelo. "Any questions?"

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Gunner did no give a shit about Mila. But he was furious at Gideon, and furious at Team Rocket's victory in Ultra Deep Sea. That anger spread like a blight to all other areas in his life, to all other worries and fears and pains.[break][break]

And though he'd thought he'd gotten over being mad at Mila for disappearing from his life, his anger at everything else reopened it like a fresh wound. But he wasn't about to admit that to her. Not when she'd just twist it around her finger a lock of her hair, to play with at her leisure.[break][break]

"I don't," Gunner said hotly.[break][break]

He was about to tell her to leave him alone when the hero complex comment tumbled out of her smart mouth. Normally, he would write it off as Mila's poor attempt at trying to insult him, but she wasn't the first person to accuse him of it that night.[break][break]

Narrowing his eyes, Gunner slid off his stool, lurching forward a bit, and stepped right up to her. The alcohol brought him inches from her face; the perfume she wore filled his nose with its familiar, alluring scent.[break][break]

"This hero complex is saving your fucking ass time and time again. You should be grateful." He scoffed. "But I guess gratitude's too much to expect from a full-time bitch."

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Gunner was a trained field operative for the Hoenn Bureau of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, which meant he spotted the two men before they spotted him. And as soon as he recognized one of them was his brother, he stayed very still amid a cluster of bamboo, hoping they would pass without noticing him.[break][break]

Unfortunately, Kahadin had other ideas. The Iron Valiant cut down bamboo to summon another group of Kartana nesting within the stalks. They rustled angrily as the Paradox Pokémon turned its blades upon them. The commotion was enough to draw the attention of Gideon and his companion.[break][break]

Gunner stifled a groan. The other man was none other than angelo vestri.[break][break]

He maintained a sour expression as Gideon approached. Gunner recognized the tension in his brother's expression, the way it tightened the lines of his face. Gideon was pissed.[break][break]

"Training my new Pokémon," Gunner replied testily, standing up to his full height and looking Gideon dead in the eyes.[break][break]

The effect would have had more impact if another tremor hadn't decided to knock him off balance. Gunner recovered quickly, steadying himself on the stalk of a nearby bamboo plant.[break][break]

"What are you doing here? It's not safe."

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